Introduction
Human personality is a broad concept that makes every individual unique and affects their worldview and behaviors in various life circumstances. The Big Five model evaluates personality by breaking it into five key dimensions: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability (Udin & Yuniawan, 2020). This paper explored the Big Five dimensions in order to identify the potential benefits and disadvantages of high scores in particular traits.
In general, excessively high scoring was as detrimental to performance as low scores. In the second part, I evaluated personal Big Five test results to describe potential areas for self-improvement. I listed two factors in which I got particularly high and low scores and explained how I could achieve improvement in these dimensions.
Big Five Dimensions: Advantages and Disadvantages
The Big Five model gained significant popularity because it breaks human personality into measurable and understandable dimensions. More importantly, the Big Five posits that factors remain consistent and stable across time, which means one can reliably predict an individual’s behavior (Peeters et al., 2006). One can assume that scoring high in such critical dimensions of personality is inherently good, whereas low scores point to character flaws. This assumption is only partially correct since excessively high scores may put a person at a disadvantage.
Openness to Experience
This dimension refers to a scale at which an individual is willing to obtain new knowledge and use their imagination and creativity in the work process. According to Peeters et al. (2006), highly-open people are usually cultured, intelligent, and broad-minded. Additionally, Lotfi et al. (2016) found that high openness to experience predicts knowledge-sharing behavior. As such, open-minded employees would easily embrace change and educate their coworkers. However, excessive openness may produce a side effect of deliberately rejecting effective ways for the sake of novelty.
Conscientiousness
One can define conscientiousness as a measure of personal self-discipline and reliability. As such, individuals scoring high in a conscientiousness factor are highly dependent and result-oriented (Udin & Yuniawan, 2020). One can expect diligent, good-quality work from these people. Furthermore, high conscientiousness scores predict resistance to deviant behaviors (Salgado, 2022). Therefore, one can assume that conscientious individuals would strive to act responsibly. However, excessive conscientiousness may endanger mental health since the relentless pursuit of professional or academic achievements may lead to burnout.
Extraversion
Extraversion is a common attribute of outgoing individuals who enjoy communicating with others. Extraverts are frequently described as sociable, assertive, and active. Furthermore, high extraversion is considered an attribute of natural leaders (Peeters et al., 2006). In that regard, an extravert may become a source of much-needed inspiration for a team effort. However, high extraversion becomes detrimental in teams with task conflicts — disagreements on work-related matters (Cullen‐Lester et al., 2016). In such cases, extravert should adjust their behavior if they do not wish to irritate coworkers.
Agreeableness
An agreeable person tends to cooperate and make friends rather than fight and make rivals. Lotfi et al. (2016) described agreeable individuals as helpful, courteous, and cheerful. In that regard, being agreeable helps to build good relationships with coworkers or fellow students and maintain a decent reputation. However, excessive agreeableness may be perceived as a weakness and exploited by less good-natured people. Therefore, one should maintain balance and show acceptable boundaries to others.
Emotional Stability
Finally, emotional stability refers to an individual’s ability to stay calm and resist the impact of stress. According to Judge et al. (2004), neuroticism is psychology’s most enduring yet puzzling concept. One can argue that emotionally stable individuals are more resilient to workplace stressors. However, being too stable may deprive an individual of passion and motivation. Overall, similar to other Big Five traits, maintaining the balance is an optimal choice.
Personal Assessment and Self-Improvement Areas
The Big Five personality test results gave me material for reflection. In particular, I scored 12 points in emotional stability and 6 points in extraversion dimensions. In the following sections, I will explain the potential advantages and disadvantages associated with such scores. In addition, I will reflect on how I can improve in these areas and enhance my academic and professional performance in the future.
High Score: Emotional Stability
On a positive note, a high emotional stability score shows that I am resilient and capable of staying calm and collected under stress. When I get a challenging assignment, I rarely demonstrate signs of concern. I believe that stressing out is a sure way to failure. Therefore, I do not let emotions get the better of me. I see no point in dreading what might happen in the future. Instead, I focus all my abilities on solving the problems at hand. This approach served me well in individual assignments, where results depended on my attitude and skills.
However, the situation changes when I have to participate in team projects. Those team members unfamiliar with my attitude tend to think I am not taking matters seriously. My emotional stability prevents me from showing too much concern about the outcomes. Deep inside, I care about results as much as others. However, I can rarely show any fire or any signs of inspiration to prove my dedication. Consequently, my future coworkers may develop a wrong perception of me. Therefore, I need to become less emotionally stable while working in teams.
Low Score: Extraversion
Given my high emotional stability, I was not surprised to see a low score in the extraversion area. I prefer doing my work rather than talking because achieving actual results is the best way to prove one’s worth. In that regard, low extraversion allows me to focus on my part instead of wasting time on meaningless activities. In addition, I find prolonged communication exhausting and welcome the opportunities to avoid interactions unrelated to business.
At the same time, I understand that low extraversion does not endear me to others. I realize that interpersonal relationships in academic and professional settings do not boil down exclusively to business. As such, I need to overcome my lack of love for communication and start engaging in conversations more. Ultimately, I need to use my high emotional stability to my advantage and open myself to others in order to maintain good relationships with people.
Conclusion
In summary, high scores in the Big Five personality dimensions are desirable. One can hardly disagree that being open-minded is better than being ignorant. Agreeable people are understandably more likable than those who fiercely defend their point of view regardless of the scope of the issue. However, one should remember that excessively high scores may create significant problems.
In that regard, my emotional stability may be too high and hinder my effectiveness in teamwork. Paired with my low extraversion, excessive emotional stability makes me look cold and unconcerned, distorting my real personality in the eyes of others. While it is tempting to say that I do not care about others’ opinions, I realize such an approach would be counterproductive. Instead, I should achieve balance in the Big Five dimensions and become more open to people.
References
Cullen‐Lester, K. L., Leroy, H., Gerbasi, A., & Nishii, L. (2016). Energy’s role in the extraversion (dis) advantage: How energy ties and task conflict help clarify the relationship between extraversion and proactive performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37(7), 1003-1022. Web.
Judge, T. A., Van Vianen, A. E., & De Pater, I. E. (2004). Emotional stability, core self-evaluations, and job outcomes: A review of the evidence and an agenda for future research. Human Performance, 17(3), 325-346. Web.
Lotfi, M., Muktar, S. N. B., Ologbo, A. C., & Chiemeke, K. C. (2016). The influence of the big-five personality traits dimensions on knowledge sharing behavior. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1 S1), 241-250. Web.
Peeters, M. A., Rutte, C. G., van Tuijl, H. F., & Reymen, I. M. (2006). The big five personality traits and individual satisfaction with the team. Small Group Research, 37(2), 187-211. Web.
Salgado, J. F. (2002). The Big Five personality dimensions and counterproductive behaviors. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10(1‐2), 117-125. Web.
Udin, U., & Yuniawan, A. (2020). Psychological capital, personality traits of big-five, organizational citizenship behavior, and task performance: Testing their relationships. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(9), 781-790. Web.